In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In England we often use the expression “making a mountain out of a molehill” to describe the process of turning an utterly inconsequential matter into a major issue. Our reading from St Luke’s Gospel suggests to me that inflating small stuff into huge issues is part of our human DNA, not just in religious circles but probably in most community dialogue. The Sadducees are attempting to trap Jesus into making a heretical statement by asking him trick a question about marriage and resurrection. The question is a classic mountain and molehill issue and the Lord pauses and reflects for a moment before answering. Then, going straight to the real heart of the matter, he reminds the inquisitors that God is God of the living, not of the dead. The unspoken subtext here is: “for God’s sake – yes, for God’s sake – do not bother me with such rubbish. Your question is of no consequence. My concern is for the living and so should yours.”
St Mark’s account of this same encounter gets to the heart of Jesus’ answer. After Jesus has silenced the Sadducees with his thoughtful response, in Mark we find the following passage: One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right.
So, what is truly important? To love God and to love your neighbour as yourself! Jesus is clear that that is what matters -not the fiddly-diddly minutiae of the Law. For goodness sake! Who cares who will be married to whom in heaven? The really important stuff is all about loving God and loving neighbour and – never to be forgotten – loving yourself!
As we all know, in Britain as also here, we live in a society that is more stressed out, and on more anxiety-reducing or sleep-inducing medications than at any other time before – and it is not just because they are now more readily available. Depression, rage, anger, physical violence – these are the by-products of a society that makes a mountain out of every molehill. For a Christian, it is a waste of time to strive for all that the world considers important when all the expenditure of energy is wasted effort. To be truly happy you do not need this latest piece of electronic gadgetry or that recognition or this victory? While a huge proportion of those who inhabit this earth are living on or near the poverty line, too many people are obsessed with seeking what our world considers the big stuff which in Jesus’s world would be entirely inconsequential – of little or no importance.
Something wonderful can happen with the simple realisation that life, like a car, is driven from the inside out, not the other way around. As you focus more on becoming more at ease with where you are, rather than focusing on where you think you should be, you begin to find peace. Ask yourself what do I really need rather than what do I think I want. Ask yourself how much of my life is focused on building up the community and caring for others? Count your many blessings and respond readily when the Lord moves you to share them with others – after all, that is why he blessed you in the first place. And if you are richly blessed let you cup of blessings overflow.
To love God and to love neighbour – so simple, yet we make it so difficult. All we need to do to find the fulfilment that comes with obeying these two commandments is to realise what is important and what is not – judged not by the world’s standards but by those of the Lord Jesus. Resist a contemporary culture that is plagued by a passion for possessions. More is not necessarily better. Stop feeling strained, hurried and breathless as you pursue the trivial and realise that people can once again become more important that possessions.
Marital relationships in heaven are of no consequence! Loving God and loving your neighbour as yourself – and all the immense outworking of love that this implies – that is the important stuff, that is what really matters.
Sermon preached by the Rev. Canon Jeremy M. Haselock
Preceptor and Chaplain to HM The Queen, Norwich Cathedral
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
Saturday after All Saints’ Day
5 November 2016